Apprentice {Gravity Falls}

Competition

"Are you sure about this?" Dipper asked as he carried he luggage into the hotel room.

Ford gave a chuckle, "Of course I am!" He exclaimed, "I didn't want to go to this science competition alone and I knew Stanley wouldn't want to come," he explained. "Besides, I need my apprentice here to support me."

Dipper looked around. "If you say so..." he trailed off. The hotel room was bustling with people. The science competition was at the building next door, so it was safe to assume the majority of people were participating.

Ford took the schedule out of his pocket, "Y'know, there's some mini-compeitions if you want to enter," Ford mentioned. "We could still get you signed up."

Dipper cringed. Although he was thirteen he absolutely hated being treated like a child or even a young teen. "Um... I think I'll pass..." he sighed. "What did you sign up for anyway?"

"A chemistry lab, a small robotics competition, and a science trivia quiz," Ford answered.

Dipper perked up, "Science trivia quiz?"

"It's not really a quiz. An announcer will ask us questions and we'll push a buzzer that will allow us to answer," he explained.

"Oh like quiz bowl!" Dipper smiled, "I did quiz bowl when I was still in school. Mabel did too, but she had more fun pressing the buzzer than answering the questions," he chuckled.

"That sound about right. Of course, these questions are purely related to science," Ford commented.

Dipper nodded, "Yeah. You did say science trivia after all."

"We're going to stay here for the night. Then my first competition is at 9:00 a.m. and my last ends at around 8:00 p.m. We'll stay at the hotel for another night and then head home on Sunday," Ford explained.

Dipper gave a thumbs up, "Sounds good!"

*   *   *

"OPEN SPOT IN TEENS' TRIVIA QUIZ!" An announcer called out.

Dipper and Ford had split up. Dipper decided to look around while Ford was at his chemistry competition and said if he needed anything, just call. The boy found himself walking towards the announcer.

"There's an open spot in the teens' trivia quiz?" Dipper asked.

The announcer looked at him, "Teens' not kids'" he sneered.

Dipper frowned, "I'm...I'm thirteen!"

The announcer rolled his eyes. "Here's a entry form. Fill this out to be eligible to compete, short stack!"

Dipper took the form in one swift motion and went to find a pen to fill it out with. "This is why I don't compete in these kind of things..." he muttered to himself, "Everyone thinks I'm ten..."

He turned in the form, which not only entered him into the quiz, but also confirmed he was in fact thirteen. After about half an hour, there was an announcement saying, "All competitors in the teens' science trivia, please make your way to stadium 1B. Thank you!"

Dipper arrived in the room where a group of at least a hundred competitors sit. He swallowed and sat down in his assigned seat. What if he messed up a really easy question? He'd be so embarrassed. No, no, he needed to stay calm.

Although, he did receive some weird looks. "I swear, I'm thirteen..." he mumbled to himself. Why did he sign up for this? There was no going back now.

The first round began shortly after he arrived. The group of 150 was split up to eliminate players. This would continue until they had two players left to compete against each other. It didn't surprise Dipper when he made it past the first few rounds.